Chechen Chief of Staff Aslan Maskhadov, a Soviet military academy graduate, had positioned fighters throughout the city. Most Chechen defenders were Soviet-trained veterans who understood Russian ...

Facing what activists say is a hardening of repression inside Chechnya amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Asil and Aishat, both young women, recently fled their violent families in search of safety.

Amid rampant speculation about his health, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-allied strongman who rules the region, has been noticeably absent from view, while grooming his teenage son for the future. By ...